Camilla moved beside Osian.
Osian turned to Camilla and said.
“You don't have to follow me.”
“Do you even know where we're going?”
“I heard it from the traitor just now.”
“I mean, do you know exactly where this place is that Arno told you about?”
“.......”
Osian was silent, not knowing the exact location.
“Look. It's not enough to know the general direction. They've been hiding out in the 45th District under the radar. You don't find them just by looking for them. So follow me.”
“And you can find them?”“What do you think Diolan trusted me for in the first place? I'm supposed to be your guide, your navigator. I have no intention of neglecting that role.”
“Then let me ask for guidance.”
Camilla led Osian down the alleyway.
“They've apparently set up shop at the [wastewater treatment plant], a dumping ground for abandoned chemicals and junk. They’ve used their brains, because it's the last place any of the three organizations would want to get involved.”
The wastewater treatment plant, as it's called, is the tacit space where the three organizations dump what they don't need.
The air around it is poisonous to breathe, with all sorts of chemicals mixed together.
Not surprisingly, the usual bums don't go near it.
It's a perfect place for any organization to hide and plot.
“You know. Who would've thought they'd organize in such a filthy place.”
What's more, it's District 45, which doesn't have much to offer.
Some people say they were too careless, but common sense dictates that there was no need for the outside world to come here.
The air was foul and stinking and the bums I'd been seeing were nowhere to be seen.
We were getting closer to the wastewater treatment plant.
“We need to wear gas masks from here on out.”
Camilla put on the metal mask she had seen when they first met.
“Do you want one?”
“No, I don't need one.”
“Hey. Didn't you hear? It's practically a poison zone from there.”
“I'd rather ask: If you saw me fight, would you think I was poisoned?”
“I'm genuinely curious, are you even human?”
“If I'm not a human, what am I?”
“......Haha, never mind. If you don't like me, so be it, but don't criticize me because it smells.”
By the time they reached the wastewater treatment plant, the stench that had been felt in the distance was now in her nose and gnawing at her whole body.
Camilla frowned. Despite her self-described directions, the wastewater treatment plant was the last place she wanted to visit again.
The smell is so strong that even with a gas mask, she can still smell it.
She could feel the toxicity of the chemicals in the air tickling her skin.
She feels fine now, but in a few hours, her skin will be red and covered in hives.
“We can't stay here much longer. You know that, right?”
“It looks like it.”
“Unless Arno was lying, their home base is somewhere around here.”
The wastewater treatment plant had a large outer wall built around it.
Rusted pipes and wires dotted the walls to keep the pollution from escaping.
There were huge tanks, purification plants, and huge pipes connecting them all.
But the strength of the drugs being dumped here meant that the filtration system wasn't doing its job, and some of the tanks were overflowing, oozing a fluorescent tar-like substance.
The storage facilities are also in disrepair, serving only as transportation routes for wastewater and drugs.
“I can't believe they're still alive after setting up base in a place like this.”
Whether Camilla muttered that or not, Osian continued on his way.
The poisonous atmosphere had no effect on him. A normal person would have felt the effects of the gas mask and burst into tears and snot but even Osian felt the foul odor keenly, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“Looks like we need to clean this place up a bit.”
“What?”
Osian drew his sword and used the power of the [Moonlight].
A chill spread out, centering on him as Osian channeled it into his sword and swung it wildly in front of him.
The spreading coldness met the chemicals as the liquid on the floor froze, and so did the drugs in the air.
With the sound of something freezing, frost dust fell in piles.
The foul odor dissipated and the pain that had been burning his skin faded as a blast of cold air swept over him.
“Oh my god.......”
Camilla gasped at the sight.
Osian is strong, she knew that from the way he showed her in the central marketplace, but she never thought he'd be able to rid this place of the toxicity of the wastewater treatment plant.
Considering the amount of chemicals and years of decay that have accumulated here, Osian's [Moonlight] alone will not be able to completely erase it.
But it was important that the most offensive poisons and odors had been driven out, at least temporarily.
“Hmm. That's better.”
Osian nodded and continued on his way towards the wastewater treatment plant.
Camilla followed close behind, closer than before.
Leading the way, Osian asked.
“Do you have any idea where their lair is?”
“Hold on a second. The structure must be connected to the underground canal, so there must be an entrance down there, and since they need to get in and out, it's most likely at the street corner.”
At the same time, the entrance had to be inconspicuous to others.
“All right, I've got a feeling.”
Camilla led Osian to a wastewater storage area and a pile of garbage.
“Bingo.”
Camilla was sure she had found the right place.
The foul odor, which had lingered even after Osian's chill had dissipated it, vanished as if from nowhere.
“The purification system here is working properly, which means there's an entrance.”
“No wonder they didn't get caught.”
“No one comes into this smelly central area. If you stay there for just an hour, you’ll get a skin disease. Even I would run away.”
“For something like that, didn’t you guide me all the way to the end?”
“Because this is my job and I have no intention of doing it sloppily.”
There was pride in her voice, a pride in her actions and Osian liked that attitude.
“Very well. Now that you've given me directions, I'll take it from here.”
“Are you sure you're okay? It's a cleverly hidden entrance, but don't take its security for granted. They must have installed a lot of security.”
“Of course I'm aware of that.”
Osian turned to the junk pile of scrap metal.
There was a rusted door, hard to spot unless you looked closely but that's only what you see on the outside.
Its contents are made of a special alloy, and there's probably a whole host of security devices inside.
Osian combined the Moonlight Swords into one.
The blue twin blades came together and turned into a single sword, the blue color turning to white.
A pure white armor covered him from head to toe and over his shoulder, a white cloak fluttered, holding the Milky Way.
“But that's just a door.”
A hot, blazing starlight sword plunged into the center of the rusted iron door.
The iron door heated up and melted around the starlight sword.
Osian immediately twirled the starlight sword around once.
Boom!
The large, thick door cracked open, dripping with molten iron.
Osian strode briskly through as Camilla could only watch in disbelief.
*
- Wheeing!
An alarm sounded in the underground facility and the people inside scrambled to get to their feet.
“Enemy! Enemy attack!”
“How on earth? What happened to the Sapphire Unit that we sent out!”
“How many are there, the entrance has been breached, is it an army?!”
The researchers, guards, and combatants inside panicked like nobody's business.
The alarm now signaled that the front had been breached.
Despite its shabby exterior, its actual strength is beyond imagination.
It was built to withstand the blasting of an entire junkyard with high explosives, and now it's been breached in an instant?
“Who is it? Is it the Enforcers?”
“Whatever, let's go stop them!”
Guards and combatants rushed out, weapons drawn while the researchers watched in cold sweat.
It's not good that they've been discovered, and it's not good that the front gate has been breached.
No matter who they were, they had to stop them, but the fact that their secret location was discovered was a problem.
They spent a lot of time and money to build this, so they made sure to secure it as best they could so it wouldn't be seen.......
“Shit. No matter how I look at this, I'm pretty sure Arno, that idiot, gave away our location!”
The experiment was coming to a close, and they were just one step away from swallowing this 45th district whole but then, at the last minute, this happened.
“No, it's not too late, just kill the intruder or whatever, finish the job, and that's it.”
They sent the guys they hired to do it and since many of them are highly skilled, they will not have issues subduing the intruders.
The researcher's expression did not improve over time.
-Kwaang! Kwagwagwang!
The sounds of explosions, collapses, and human screams mixed together.
“Sector B-1 destroyed!”
“All combatants wiped out! We can't stop him!”
“Sector B-3 bulkhead has been breached!”
The horror reports keep coming.
“What the hell is going on, who's here, how many intruders!”
“Well, it's.......”
“Don't be silly, just answer the question!”
“One.”
“What?”
The shocking fact was relayed to the combatants joining the scene.
“Only one raider, huh?”
“You're telling me we just got pierced by one? Are you kidding me?”
“How the fuck does this make sense, is the other guy some kind of executioner or witch?”
But their complaints didn't last long.
For beyond, in the darkness beyond the circular passageway of pipes and wires, a boom rang out.
He was coming.
The bombast ceased, and the screams died down.
They peeked their heads out from the corners of the split passageways to survey the situation.
As they swallowed hard, there was a clatter of iron, and a pure white beam of light stepped out of the darkness.
It was a knight in shining armor.
“What the hell is that, a knight?”
“Shut up and shoot!”
They activated the booby trap they'd been waiting for and opened fire.
There was no way to dodge bullets in this narrow passageway and these were not just any bullets. These were chemical munitions packed with extreme poison and specially designed bullets for maximum penetration that would pierce through any cover.
That was when the knight's sword moved.
It swung in a pure white trajectory, parrying or deflecting the incoming bullets.
The combatants, watching in disbelief, set off the booby trap.
A huge explosion ripped through the passageway. Shockwaves crackled across their skin, accompanied by a cloud of dust.
The combatants were certain this would kill him, until they saw Osian still walking slowly through the smoke.
“Shoot, shoot! Shoot them all!”
“Baaaah!”
-Tut-tut-tut!
The gunfire continued for a while, then stopped completely.
The researcher monitoring the situation muttered in a voice that sounded like he had given up.
“That, combatants......annihilated. Enemy, still alive.”
The researchers' gazes turned to the head researcher, the man in charge.
His half-shaved head flashed over his glasses as he made a decision.
“… … Release all the sapphire test subjects.”
“What? Ha, but it's still in the stabilization phase.......”
“Just do as I say! Or else, do you want the 「original」 stolen?”
The researchers shut their mouths; the blade was already down to the nape of their necks, so what's the point of arguing now?
They narrowed their eyes and listened to the chief researcher.
“These aren't the proper test subjects we sent with Arno, they're more complete, and we don't know what they'll do yet, but it's not a bad idea to accumulate data.”
Muttering to himself, the chief researcher turned around.
There was a clear cylinder filled with a pale blue liquid.
A clear hose flowed from the bottom of the cylinder like an octopus leg, connecting it to the test subject.
“Send.”
The blue liquid, the liquid the lead researcher had spoken of was injected into the test subjects' bodies through the hose.
The liquid, which would normally be too strong to be diluted and purified, was injected into the subjects' bodies.
*
Osian walked briskly, but stopped before the final gateway.
Beyond, he had a hunch, was the head of this place but before he could reach it, a group of men stood in his way.
“Just when I thought it was finally over.”
More men, similar to the blue ragged ones he'd seen before, stood in his way.
They were fewer in number, only three but the faint power of the [Moonlight] that emanated from their bodies was much thicker and stronger than the ten he had faced earlier.
“Are you guys really doing this?”
At that moment, one of the test subjects in the lead stretched out its arm towards Osian.
The moment it saw what Osian was about to do, magic surged from its body, and it activated the two-star ice elemental magic [Frozen Blast].
A wave of cold energy engulfed Osian and covered the entire passageway, freezing even the dripping pipes.
It was a power far beyond that of a normal 2-star magic.
“How dare you.”
Osian wiped a thin layer of frost from the surface of the starlight armor and glared at the test subjects.
“Even with my power, you use magic?”
Doing something I can't do, or rather something I don't do.
I will never forgive you.